Sweetfern, Comptonia peregrina, is neither sweet nor a fern, but is one of my favorite plants. It looks like something the dinosaurs would have walked through, and smells like all the warmest, spiciest, most magical aromas of imagination.

Sunday, June 17, 2018

Moxie and I went out at 7 for the usual morning rounds: releasing the chickens, checking the goats - all fine! - and then down to the garden on the Upper West Side to water seeds and admire our trellis.

Every morning for the past week I have gotten to that garden and thought - "Oops! must string trellis for pole beans today!" - and then forgotten to do it or even to write it down. So last night when it was almost dark, Mox helped me wind cotton yarn up and down between pairs of horizontal wires my Occasional Helper put up last week. And it was very pleasant to get down to the garden this morning and say, "Ah!" instead of, "Oops!"

On the way back up through the paddocks, I picked sprigs of a few little plants and put them in a jam jar for later observation and sketching.

This afternoon, when I finally threw in the towel and accepted that I was not going to get much of anything productive done today, Piper, Moxie, Della and I spent some pleasant - if hot - time under the portico, listening to the cheery sounds of bird conversation and the not-cheery sound of frass falling constantly. It sounds like rain just beginning to fall, all the time. How I hate gypsy moths. Those wretched caterpillars are defoliating all the trees again this year. It's a lot of stress, especially for my big, old, beautiful trees. Grrrrr.

Moxie suddenly went on the alert and found a chipmunk in the stone wall, while Della discovered that the new lawn chair is a perfect fit.

I brought out my sketchbook and the jam jar, and began trying to draw while Piper bumped my elbow at 20-second intervals until I gave up and opened the door so she could go back into the house. It is much cooler inside. Plus that is where she keeps her couch.

And here is the daily markmaking effort for today, Day 168.

Speaking of flowers, before I post this I want to add some pictures of rocket-the-plant, for which Rocket-the-goat is named.

Hesperus matronalis. It's a tall, naturalized non-native with a lot of common names; sweet rocket and dame's rocket are the two I've heard most often. It does have a sweet aroma, but I don't know where the "rocket" part of the name originated. Does anyone know? If so, please leave a comment!

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